Stanford Committee on Minicourses 

Fifteen percent of PhDs in the biosciences are in a tenured track faculty position five years after their completion of their PhD.  Increasing numbers of students are choosing careers outside of academia or outside of research.  There have been multiple articles over the past few years calling for changes in graduate education. 

Stanford biosciences received money to pilot mini-courses.  A mini-course allows graduate students to receive training for one to three weeks in a subject without having to take a full quarter away from research.  The thinking is that mini-courses will train students to better adapt to the changing landscape, no matter what their career goal. 

On the committee we reviewed and ranked faculty proposals for mini-courses in different subjects.  Many of these courses are currently underway this year.  Additionally, we provided input on a new website for the biosciences.  We generated a framework for how students can approach the PhD and resources to help them at different stages.  Graduate education and mentorship is still important to me.  I've gone back to Stanford once to serve on a career panel and then later to give a presentation on science policy.  

Here is a pdf with samples of the professional development framework that we worked on.